Process of incubation.



S. A. MERKLEY.

PROCESS OF INGUBATION.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 11, 1913.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914.

' [NI LNTOR.

ATTORNEY.

(Illllln WJTNE SES STANLEY A. M'ERKLEY, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOBT0 MERKLEY MANUFAC- TURING COMPANY, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, A CORPORATIONOF NEW YORK.

FTQE.

PROCESS OF INGUBATION.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, STANLEY A. MERKLEY, ofBuffalo, in the county of Erie, in the State of New York, have inventednew and useful Improvements in Processes of Incubation, of which thefollowing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is afull, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a process of incubation and more particularlyto a process for the incubation of fowls, such as chickens, ducks,turkeys and the like, and is a division of my pending application SerialNo. 642,126, filed August 3rd, 1911, and the claims in this applicationare for the process set forth and described in my said pendingapplication.

It is well known among those versed in the art of incubation thatsubstantially thirty per cent. (30%) of good eggs fail to hatch and thata large percentage of the fowls which manage to get out of the shelllater die by reason of the fact that their general vitality is soreduced by carbon dioxid and other poisons generated during the processof incubation that it is impossible to raise them. The generation ofthese poisons, particularly carbon dioxid, increases as the incubatingperiod goes on and their effect upon the embryo, by experimentation hasbeen discovered and demonstrated to increase in a greater ratio andparticularly is this true between the fourteenth day of the incubatingperiod and until the time at which the embryo has wholly absorbed theegg yolk. It is equally true that suflicient normally constituted aircannot be admitted to the chamber to counteract the effects of thesepoisons, for a suflicient circulation of air to carry off or neutralizethese poisons to any advantageous degree, no matter how moist the airmight be, will dry out the egg and render the embryo unhatchable. It isabsolutely impossible for normally constituted air to, in any beneficialdegree, counteract these poisons, if diffused in the chamber. Asubstantial circulation would be necessary, and it is well known thatthe opening of the incubating chamber for only a moment at the laterstages of incubation, no matter Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914. Divided and this application filed February howmoist the entering air may be, will dry out the egg and render theembryo unhatchable, and it is, therefore, apparent that any substantialcirculation will have a llke effect. It is extremely important,therefore, that some process be devised whereby incubation may becarried on without subjecting the eggs, particularly during the laterstages of the incubation, to the injurious and fatal effects of carbondioxid and other poisons.

The primary object, therefore, of my inventlon 1s a process ofincubation which is designed to get and results in getting a live,vigorous fowl from every good egg and I have discovered that this isaccomplished by liberating within or in any manner supplying to, theincubating chamber substantially pure oxygen adapted to be diffusedtherethrough and which results in a neutralization of the carbon 'dioxidand other poisons given off during the incubating period, whereby notonly life is generated and fostered within the egg, but the hatchingfowl is so vitalized that the egg yolk is completely absorbed and astrong animal results.

A further object of the process is to hasten the decomposition of thelime salts in the shell of the egg and render it brittle and alsoprevent the drying out of the egg by moistening the oxygen liberated inthe chamber.

Still another object is to prevent any substantial interference with theregulated temperature of the incubator by supplying this oxygen in awarmed condition in which condition it will also carry with it moremoisture than if cold.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated a means for carryingout my process.

Figure l is a longitudinal section of an incubator having an oxygengenerator in connection therewith. Fig. 2 is a central vertical sectionof my improved oxygen generator. Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontalsection taken on line 22, Fig. 2, the substance within the can orcartridge being omitted. Fig. 4: is an enlarged broken longitudinalsection taken through a portion of the feed tube, it having apenetrating device applied to its end.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, like numerals of referencerefer to like parts in the several figures.

The reference numeral 1 designates the incubator considered as a wholeit being divided into three compartments 2, 3, 4, by two horizontalpartitions 5, 6. The upper partition 5 separates the compartments 2 and3 which may be termed, respectively, the heating compartment and the eggcompartment, and may be either metal or fabric so as to radiate heat tothe egg compartment beneath or diffuse the heat thereinto. The lowestchamber 4: is the fowl compartment which is separated from the eggcompartment by the partition 6, but as the latter is made of open-workmaterial, the compartments 3 and 4 may be considered as a single chamberhaving a support for the eggs. The partition or support 6 may beconstructed of narrow pieces of wood 7 laid upon wire netting 8 to formtroughs into which to lay the eggs 9, and at any desirable point, as iscommon in incubators, an opening or openings are provided in thepartition 6 so that when the fowls are liberated from the shell, theycan enter the compartment 4; as shown.

At one end of the incubator is a heater 10 of any approved constructionhaving connection with the heating compartment 2, by means of a pipe 11through which the necessary heat for incubation is delivered.

Thus far the description relates to one of several common forms ofincubators which can be equipped with my invention.

My improved oxygen generator or vitalizer is designated by the numeral33 and in the embodiment of my invention illustrated is located outsideof the incubator. It comprises a casing 12 having an opening at itsupper end which is closed in an air-tight manner b means of a closure 13having a centrally epending plug 14 provided with a vertical passage 15and an L-shaped passage 16 opening at the bottom and side of the plug.

Arranged centrally in the casing 12 is a purifier or bath 17 of whichthe plug of the closure 13 forms part. This purifier comprises a casing18 having an opening at its upper end into which the plug 14 fits anddepending from the plug is a tube 19 which has its upper end enteredinto the vertical branch of the L-shaped passage 16 in said plug and itslower end extending into a body of water 20 within the casing 18.Fitting, into the vertical passage 15 in said plug is a tube 21 to whichis securedone end of hose 22 having its other end connected to ametallic tube 23 whichis passed through one of the walls of theincubator and terminates within the egg-compartment.

For the purpose of forcing the tube 23 through the wall of the casingand the partition 5, a penetrating device 24: is placed on the free endof the tube and after having driven the tube through the wall andpartition, the penetrating device is removed so as to leave the end ofthe tube open for the escape of oxygen fed therethrough, as willpresently appear.

A quantity of water 25 is placed in the outer casing 12 and submergedtherein is a can or cartridge 26 containing a substance 27 in cake formor otherwise, which upon coming in contact with the water, will generateoxygen. p For this purpose, the can or cartridge has water inlets 28 inits bottom and an oxygen escape opening 29 in its top, and in order thatthe water may enter freely, the bottom is provided with outwardlyprojecting teats 30 which hold the bottom of the can out of contact withthe casing 12 so that i the water has free access through the space 31intervening.

The substance with the can or cartridge is preferably made in cake formand somewhat smaller than the oan or cartridge so that the water comesin contact with as 1 much of its surfaces as possible. To this end thebottom of the can or cartridge has a plurality of upwardly projectingteats 32 by which the cake is held elevated so that practically theentire surface of the cake is subjected to the action of the water.

The chemical action of the water and the substance within the canresults in the generation of oxygen, which escapes through the opening29, passes up through the water in the casing 12 so as to carry with ita percentage of moisture, and then rises to the upper end of the casingwhere it enters the L-shaped passage 16, and by the tube 19 is carrieddown into the body of water 20 in the casing 18 to be thereby purified,and in escaping from the water, the oxygen carries with it additionalmoisture and escapes through the passage 15, through the tube 21, thehose 22 and the metallic tube 23, to be liberated within theegg-compartment, and to the fowl-compartment beneath through theopen-work partition 6.

The generation of the oxygen creates a certain degree of heat so thatthe oxygen is liberated from the feed tube, which the tubes 21, 23 andhose 22 constitute, in a warm condition so as not to change the temperature of the air within the incubator which it vitalizes.

It is apparent from the foregoing dements of parts may be resorted towithout departing from my invention or sacrificing any of the advantagesthereof.

\Vhat I claim is:

1. The process of incubation comprising the heating of the egg andincreasing the oxygen contents of the air within the incubating chamberduring the interval between the fourteenth day of the incubating periodand the time at which the egg yolk is wholly absorbed by supplying tosaid chamber substantially pure oxygen.

2. The process of incubation comprising the heating of the egg andincreasing the oxygen contents of the air within the incubating chamberduring the interval between the time when the eggs begin to pip and thetime when the embryo is hatched by supplying to said chambersubstantially pure oxygen.

3. The process of incubation comprising the heating of the air withinthe incubating chamber, allowing fresh air to enter said chamber forsubstantially the first seventeen days of the incubating period,shutting off the entry of air to said chamber shortly before the eggspip-that is, approximately at the eighteenth day, and diffusing in saidchamber during the period in which it is closed, substantially pureoxygen.

4:. The process of incubation comprising the heating of the air withinthe incubating chamber and increasing the oxygen content of said airfrom substantially the time the eggs begin to pip until the embryo ishatched, by supplying to said chamber substantially pure oxygen.

5. The process of incubation comprising the heating of the air withinthe incubating chamber and increasing the oxygen content of said airfrom substantially the eighteenth day of the incubating period until theembryo is hatched, by supplying to said chamber substantially pureoxygen.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 3rd day of February,1913.

STANLEY A. MERKLEY.

Witnesses:

EUGENE A. THOMPSON, EVA E. GREENLEAF.

caplet of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

- Washington, I). G.

